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Gender pay divide remains problematic

Published: April 28, 2016

The gender pay gap between men and women is still significant, according to new findings.

Research published by Glassdoor showed that the unadjusted pay gap between men and women in the UK is 22.9 per cent.

For every £1 earned by men, women earn 77 pence. When this data takes account of age, education and years of experience, then the gender pay divide drops to 15 per cent.

This lowers further to 5.5 per cent when additional controls for occupation, industry, location, year, company and job title are factored in.

Several countries were involved in the study, including the UK, US, Australia, Germany and France.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor, said: “The gender pay gap is real, and Glassdoor’s comprehensive study helps us better understand just how significant this gap is across multiple countries. While our report reveals a significant gender pay gap, it’s important to understand there are multiple ways to analyse this gap.

“Glassdoor’s unique compensation database allows us to closely examine the factors that help explain some of the documented differences in pay between men and women and shine a bright spotlight on the portion of the wage gap for which there seems to be no explanation.”

While the majority (64 per cent) of the overall UK pay gap can be explained by things such as education, age and experience, 36 per cent of the divide cannot be accounted for.

Therefore, discrimination, workplace bias and other factors are thought to play a part in the disparity.

Mitrefinch offers payroll technology that can help firms track and monitor salaries and make any adjustments necessary to ensure that the amount given is in the best interests of both the employee and manager.

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